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Elements and Materials

Space Frame

Structural Principle

A rigid, lightweight three-dimensional truss built from struts arranged in a repeating geometric lattice, distributing structural load across the whole framework rather than to a small number of points. The form allows wide, column-free spans for roofs and enclosures and is associated with the structural experiments of Buckminster Fuller and with the modular MERO system developed by Max Mengeringhausen.

Facts
Element Kind
Structural Principle 2
First Used Era
Twentieth century; Alexander Graham Bell experimented with tetrahedral trusses for aeronautical use in the early 1900s, and Max Mengeringhausen's MERO system, developed in Germany in 1943, was the first use of space trusses in architecture, with the form widespread from the 1960s. 1
Era
Era (category)
Modern (19th-20th c.) 1
Connections

Associated With

Buckminster Fuller, Architects and Designers
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Space Frame (Wikipedia)
Geodesic Dome, Elements and Materials

A geodesic dome is a spherical special case of a triangulated space frame.

Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Space Frame (Wikipedia)
Structural Steel, Elements and Materials
Truss, Elements and Materials
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases

Era Of Origin

The Contemporary Period

Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.

The Late Modern Period

Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.

Sources
1. Space Frame (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikipedia: Space frame, History section
    Max Mengeringhausen developed the space grid system called MERO (acronym of Mengeringhausen Rohrbauweise) in 1943 in Germany, the first use of space trusses in architecture.
  • Wikipedia: Space frame
    A space frame or space structure (3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern.
  • English Wikipedia, Space frame, lead section, first sentence
    A space frame or space structure (3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern.
  • In Category: Elements and Materials
  • Associated With: Buckminster Fuller
  • Associated With: Geodesic Dome
View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Space frame, history section
Quote, Wikipedia: Space frame, history section
Max Mengeringhausen developed the space grid system called MERO (acronym of Mengeringhausen Rohrbauweise) in 1943 in Germany, the first use of space trusses in architecture.
View the Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.Associated With: TrussView the Source
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